Edu set to join Bursaspor on loan

Maurice Edu knows he needs first-team minutes if he is to continue to play for the U.S. Men’s National Team in this important calendar year, and as a result he is heading to a team in Turkey that U.S. fans might be familiar with.

Edu is set to join Bursaspor on loan from Stoke City until the end of the season, pending him passing a physical. The six-month loan includes a purchase option and comes after a frustrating first six months at Stoke, where Edu made just one ten-minute appearance against Liverpool during the first half of the campaign.

Bursaspor, which currently sits in sixth place in the 18-team Super Lig, is the same club U.S. teammate Jozy Altidore also spent time at during a six-month loan stint in 2011. In fact, Altidore spoke with Edu to give him some insight about Bursaspor and their supporters prior to the 26-year-old midfielder agreeing to terms with the club.

Edu has not seen the field at the club level since early October, but he believes he is fit enough to partake in the club’s first league match of 2013 on Saturday when Bursaspor hosts Kayserispor.

Here is a video of Edu arriving at Bursaspor earlier today:

What do you think of Edu joining Bursaspor on loan? Think he will do well in Turkey? Wishing he would have joined a different team/league?

Turkey is an underrated league, and Bursaspor are a quality team. In reality, Mo just needs to go somewhere he can get some game time. All in all, he could do a lot worse than Bursaspor assuming they have an actual plan for him to contribute, unlike his time at Stoke. So lets hope it all works out for him, because there’s a reasonable chance the USMNT will need him at some point during the Hex.

Agreed. The Turkish league is one of the more skilled leagues as well, which is where Mo could use some refinement. Also, isn’t he stacked? Damn, he’s an athlete. I wish someone would press him to be a bit more aggressive in the offensive third of the field.

Aggressive? All we need is another J. Jones on the field tallying up yellow cards. Someone needs to teach Edu how to control the ball. He is looking more and more like Gooch on the USMNT pitch. And that’s not a compliment.

No, there were multiple reports that they loved his talent and wanted to sign him, but stopped playing him when contract talks broke down. Not sure if that’s true but it’s a bit of a red flag ESP since Mo is going into the exact same situation.

I think he just needs game time. He probably wants to stay in the UK. Barring some foolish club mgmt decisions that cost Rangers their standing, he would still be living in Scotland. He probably would have gone to Sochaux If the Rangers had accepted their earlier bid. Just get playing time and make yourself more marketable come the summer window. Play and the USMNT will take care of itself.

I think he’d found a good home for him in Rangers, and when you find those, Europe is a good decision. But then Rangers imploded. Far as the rest goes, Stoke is not playing him, Sochaux was pretty cold with Davies, and he’s in a tough spot. He needs to hope Bursaspor is the answer because he’s entering a critical period in the qualification and roster shakeout periods.

At times it’s advisable to take a step backward in order to two or more forward. This appears one of those times. Not familiar with Turkey 1st division, but playing week in week out is better than sitting on the stands during what should be your prime years.

At the end of six months, after playing at club & country, hopefully there will be a few options.

But the story above says Bursaspor has an option to buy this summer. Personally, if Edu fits into the team and personally feels comfortable in Turkey, I would rather see him playing in 2013-14 (before WC 2014) for a top Turkish team who at current league standings is in striking distance of a European competition than end up in another uncertain situation not even making the roster. Sometimes better to be a big fish in a small pond rather than….

Let’s not forget, Turkey has some good teams and some of the world’s best players and if Edu works at it he can definitely improve his game there. And I am 99.999% certain that Edu would not have made the move without a green light from his majesty.

@biff agreed, Bursp should b one of the options he considers at the end of six months…realizing both player and club would have to agree on terms. Ideally, Edu would have a couple options to choose from, that said, moving from EPL to TSL is step down but still a place to competitive quality soccer.

Whatevs, he’s healthy, hopefully in the 18 or 11, and still in the national team picture. All good things.

Even before I saw the video I was thinking this has potential to be a good move for Edu, with Bursaspor a top Turkish team with potential to play in European competitions. And now after watching the video, I am convinced. You can see that the team is totally excited to get Stoke/Rangers/USMNT midfielder Maurice Edu, treating him like a star. Taping his arrival at team HQ and calling in on the local press for an impromptu press conference and a photo op. Edu looked a little shell-shocked at the beginning, but finally started loosening up and even smiling when the photogs were trying to get him to look in the camera, shouting: “Edu. Edu.” Hilarious.

Got my fingers crossed that Edu works his you-know-what off 24/7 and does well at Bursaspor and can improve all aspects of his game and that it can be a positive experience for him like it was for Jozy.

he arrived to the training facility with helicopter and then by car to the club hq building.
they treat him like a start player. thats a good wellcome by turkish club officials and sports media.

media kournalist and photo workers act very rush etc therefor one of club officials keep saying them: guys slow done slow done ,dont be too close etc.
(thats were edu looks not confortable), later on he smile .
journalist and photo workers stay calm :)… lmalo the guys keep rushing to try to best shots as close as edu. wow. thats forsure make shock a bit for edu in his first minutes in the club building.

Hey, magic journey. Great stuff you posted. Thank you very much for the inside information. I assume you are posting from Buraspor. Is that right? Please continue to post here and tell us how Edu is doing at Buraspor and more about your team.

Edu is a solid mid tier player. Scotland, Turkey, Greece, Denmark, Ukraine, Holland. He was bought as “depth” for Stoke. Didnt get a chance to even dress for most of the season. Most likely he will get a permanen move to Bursapor or leave Stoke next summer for a club in France. He joined Stoke because he enjoys life in the UK, but most of his interest there was from Championship clubs. Ma

I agree he belongs at a mid-tier club. However, I do not know how you think Stoke is better than most French clubs (or maybe I am reading too much into your statement). Even if the French league is more defensive (with a lot of team utilizing 1 or 2 defensive midfielders) a lot of the teams are more technical than Stoke. He just didn’t fit into the Stoke plans. I can see him fitting into other teams in the UK, but a lot of those teams already have footballers on the books that fill the role he would be best suited for.

I have been to Turkey (easy and popular flight while working in Germany), but I would not want to live there.

As an expat living in Turkey and a fan of the domestic league, Turkey is a great place to live and enjoy soccer. Yes, the fan base can get crazy and there are always a few that can give a bad name, but for the most part it is a knowledgeable fan base. Also, Bursa is a beautiful city that is along the Marmara Sea coast. In addition next year Bursaspor opens what will arguably be the most advanced stadium in the world. Check it out: http://metro.co.uk/2011/08/25/bursaspor-reveal-new-45000-seater-stadium-plans-with-crocodile-on-roof-127431/.

Hopefully he gets back some match fitness because the reality is the USMNT is in need of DM’s. Williams hasn’t been particularly good for his club the last few months prior to the Bundesliga winter break. Klinsmann doesn’t want to play Jones or MB90 at DM, so that leaves Beckerman as a pure DM. And I don’t want to be counting on Beckerman at the international stage.

I’m not sure I want to be counting on ANY of our DM’s in matches against better competition (and that includes Maurice Edu). We saw how out of his depth he looked playing as a lone 6 in the first half against Belgium.

Edu, Beckerman, Jones and Williams are ALL not the answer. Even when they perform well in club, they stink it up for country. Jones has perhaps performed the best of the four, but he negates it with all those yellows.

Well, when Klinsmann first took over and was experimenting with playing only one DM number 6 I sort of game him the benefit of the doubt. But I am now convinced it just ain’t gonna work. hardly any other team uses it and there must be a reason for that, such as, yep, it just doesn’t work. I much prefer a 4-2-3-1 and I think that is what would be most successful formation for the UMSNT. Anyway, my point is that playing as a Lone Number 6 is highly difficult and I don’t think we should judge the performances of Beckerman and Edu when Klinsmann played them as lone DMs. To the best of my recollection, Klinsmann has never played Jones or MB as a lone DM.

Too late for Wondolowski which probably compounded by the fact the MLS would probably charge a lot to buy his rights (in other words, he is worth more to the MLS than European teams). I say that because he is 30 years. He was a late bloomer. It’s too bad because he has good movement off the ball, if you watch him.

Don’t hold your breath, I mean, he just signed a deal and led the league in goals. MLS will want MVP money and any European suitor will see a scrappy older player and want a modest fee.

FWIW, he’s on the periphery of the NT, why mess with it? He knows SJ will play him and feature him, why hit re-start someplace else? For cash? This is probably his only World Cup shot. For Europe? Unlike some people like Gonzo he’s not really talked up that sort of aspiration.

To me SJ is his ticket to the NT pool. He may or may not make it, but I can’t imagine he’d risk what’s happened to players like Edu, Findley, Rogers, where you get stuck in the wrong team that’s disinterested anymore and your NT stock plummets, and next thing you know you’re old news.

If anything, this is the time in the cycle when a lot of players come back. You only go abroad if you don’t see it happening this cycle and want to cash in.

Don’t know if Edu has been to Bursa before,but he will be pleasantly surprised. It’s very cosmopolitan, lots of fun, beautiful,and not so far from Istanbul. And while the big three usually control things (Besiktas, Galatasaray, Fenerbahce), Bursaspor did break through a few years ago. That’s a big club, the biggest probably after the big three. Great move

When you’re in Edu’s spot I don’t think you care if the team is “in Europe” or how the league ranks. I think he has more simple fish to fry…..PT. The team either provides it or not. He catapulted to US consideration with Rangers in the modest SPL. Particularly considering what’s happened to him at Stoke, there’s a counter-argument to be made that European quality and high league reputation is the opposite of what he needs now. He needs a team not so self-absorbed they won’t play him.

I’m happy he found a decent team in a decent league willing to take him, hopefully he finds playing time soon. It must be awkward to be a black American living and working there though. I know that not all Muslim countries are the same and how Turkey is culturally more aligned with Europe than the Middle East, but the US –> UK –> Turkey is quite the shift. I know, I’m a horribly ignorant and bigoted person. Not that I’ve studied the region extensively or anything.

The Turkish Super Lig has players from all over the globe, and Bursa like most Turkish clubs has a very passionate and dedicated fan base. If Mo plays hard like he always has, he will have the respect of the fans and play a quality of football that will keep him on Klinsman’s radar. Glad to have Mo in the Turkish Super Lig even if it is with Besiktas’ rival club. Best of luck to him! I hope more Americans start to come.

Freddy and Jozy have played there (as have Freidel and a few others), I’d be interested what they think. Since it’s a “random” kind of team I presume Edu had some input into the loan and did some looking into it. I can’t imagine Stoke of its own accord said, “Let’s send you to Bursaspor.” They’d have more likely sent him to, I dunno, Leeds or something. Bursaspor with a purchase option sounds like something cooked up between the agent and the team as a face-saving transition out of Stoke.

Bursaspor is not a “random” team (at least as they relate to Edu). They were one of multiple clubs in Turkey and France that had made an offer for Edu this summer when he was available for a minimal transfer fee.

Come back to MLS, Edu! Someone make that man a DP offer. Any way DC United does? I think they only have 1 DP. I would love to see that team with Edu as d-mid supporting Pontius, Najar, and DdR in attack.

I like the MLS, but it is a step down in competition from Turkey (both in competition and compensation). Remember he was on over 1 million at Rangers seriously. As much as it has improved, you cannot compare the fan environment to that Turkey or England, Germany, Netherlands or France etc,

Also as an ex-pat who move moved to Germany, it looks like he, (like me) actually enjoys the European lifestyle as well. He really liked in Scotland.